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<br />6.4A <br />Page 1 <br /> <br />REPORT <br /> <br />To the Honorable Mayor and City 'Council <br />From the Ci Manaer <br /> <br />December 7, 2009 <br /> <br />SUBJECT <br />Introduce an Ordinance amending the Redwood City Municipal Code to increase the <br />penalty for parking violations and adopt a resolution establishing penalties for Vehicle <br />Code parking violations <br /> <br />RECOMMENDATION <br />1. Introduce an ordinance amending Chapter 20, Article VII, Sections 20.95.1, <br />20.95.2, 20.132, and 20.191 of the City of Redwood City Municipal Code to <br />increase the penalty for parking violations by $10.00 to recover the state court <br />construction fees imposed by Senate Bill 1407 and to align penalties more <br />closely to those of surrounding municipalities in San Mateo County. <br />2. Adopt a resolution establishing penalties for state Vehicle Code parking <br />violations by $10 to align penalties more closely to those of surrounding <br />municipalities in San Mateo County. <br /> <br />BACKGROUND <br />On January 1, 2009, the State of California enacted Senate Bill 1407, which increased <br />by $3.00, the surcharge fee to parking citations in all cities. The new surcharge fee is in <br />addition to a $1.50 surcharge fee previously imposed by the State in 2008, thus raising <br />the total surcharge collected by the State of California to $4.50. The purpose of the new <br />legislation is to redirect allocation of courthouse funding, establishing a "State Court <br />Facilities Construction Fund," which diverts a portion of parking fine revenues collected <br />by the City and remitted to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). <br /> <br />During the June 2009 budget study sessions, City Council conceptually approved a staff <br />recommendation to increase parking fines to offset the projected loss of approximately <br />$72,000 in parking fine revenue as a result of State surcharges. During the October <br />2009 budget study session, City Council conceptually approved a staff recommendation <br />to increase parking fines by $10 to provide approximately $88,000 annually in additional <br />revenue above the amount necessary to offset State surcharges. <br /> <br />The City's parking citation ordinance was last amended in 2004. Based on a recent <br />review of fines in surrounding communities, Redwood City's existing parking fines tend <br />to be lower by $5 to $15. Redwood City Municipal Code sections 20.95.1, 20.95.2, <br />20.132, and 20.191 establish parking fines imposed by the City. The current fine for <br />parking violations is $25.00 and the proposed ordinance increases this amount to <br />$35.00. In addition, the parking fine increase will also apply to California Vehicle Code <br />parking violations and parking violations of the Uniform Fire Code. <br /> <br />1 <br />